Author’s note: This article contains spoilers for the manga and anime ERASED. You can read our reviews of Volume 1, Volume 2, and Volume 3 now. You can also enter our giveaway of Volume 4 at the bottom of the review.
I’m not alone anymore.
Satoru Fujinuma’s time traveling adventures continue in the final installment of ERASED, Volume 4 by Kei Sanbe.
After witnessing the murder of his mother by an unknown attacker in the first volume, “revival”—Satoru’s unique ability to travel back a few moments in time—sends him back further than it ever has before, from 2006 all the way to 1988, to when Satoru is 10 years old. The serial deaths of a number of his classmates in 1989 appear to be somehow related to his mother’s death, and revival sends him back to stop them.
BOKU DAKE GA INAI MACHI © Kei SANBE 2018 KADOKAWA CORPORATION
At the end of the third volume, Satoru discovers the identity of the serial murderer, but a little too late. He ends up in a coma after the murderer traps him in a car and drives it into a frozen river. Protected and cared for by his mother for almost fifteen years, however, Satoru eventually awakens with no memories of the murderer’s identity.
The beginning of this volume starts with Satoru trying to piece together everything that’s happened to him, gathering and summing up information from the various timelines he’s lived. He eventually regains his memories and seeks to confront the murderer, although he knows he has to be careful in how he does so in order to keep his family and friends safe.
The manner in which Satoru confronts the murderer in the manga is different from the anime, and I appreciated this more extended ending. Rather than confronting the murder on the hospital rooftop soon after waking from his coma, the manga takes us months into the future, with Satoru regaining the ability to walk and going on a retreat with his fellow rehab patients. There, Satoru and his childhood friend Kenya Kobayashi, who has since grown up and become a lawyer, work together to confront the murderer.
I don’t want to say too much more and give it all away. It’s been difficult enough writing reviews for this series without giving away too many details. This is the kind of story best read with as little knowledge as possible of how the story unfolds. Still, I must admit, at first I was reluctant to read the manga after having watched the anime, since I already knew where the story was going and the identity of the murderer. And yet, I’ve come to appreciate the way both the manga and the anime tell the story.
I’ve found that by reading the manga after watching the anime, I’ve gained a better appreciation of both tellings. The manga has clarified certain details of the story for me, even though the manga can be a little confusing. I find many time travel manga, or manga that go back and forth from the past to the present, to be that way. So I’m glad I’ve been able to experience both versions of the story. The ending of the manga, particularly the way Satoru confronts the killer, was especially satisfying.
If you’ve enjoyed the first three volumes of this manga, definitely read to the end. The story and art are consistent, and finally seeing the murderer getting his or her due at the end provided me with some much needed closure. Of all the volumes, this one was the most difficult for me to follow, probably because it diverges from the anime (or rather, the anime diverges from the manga), but Sanbe’s use of clearly marked dates helps keep the reader on track to the very end.
The future is always a fresh start.
ERASED was originally serialized in Young Ace magazine in Japan from 2012 through 2016. Volume 4 is now available in English from Yen Press.
Story: 5 out of 5 stars
Art: 4 out of 5 stars
Overall: 4 out of 5 stars
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[coffee]
